Firefighter Air Replenishment Systems (FARS)

FARS is a building-installed standpipe that delivers breathing air. The systems are designed to provide firefighters with a quick, safe, reliable and constant source of air resupply during all stages of a large structure fire. Firefighters can refill their air bottles at filling stations located throughout a building during emergency operations while under full respiration. Just as water standpipes deliver water, FARS deliver air.

During the construction process, FARS installers will install a ½" stainless steel piping distribution system to interconnect all system components. Depending on the preference of the Authority Having Jurisdiction, air-filling stations are located at various locations in designated stairways or in air resource closets (every two floors is a common requirement). FARS can also be retrofitted into existing buildings.

The air-fill stations are wall-mounted panels with high-pressure hoses designed to fill two air bottles within two minutes. In the first stages of firefighting, the air supply comes from on-site storage cylinders located in an air storage room, typically on a building’s ground floor. Later, air is supplied by a fire department's mobile air unit.

View this video to learn more about how FARS work.

The manual delivery of air is labor-intensive, making fewer firefighters available for other critical tasks like fire attack, search and rescue. With FARS, more fire crews can focus on saving lives and property.

FARS can also help to speed up later stage operations like salvage and overhaul, which typically take place in an environment immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) and require that firefighters remain on air. Accelerating these operations with ready access to air resupply can help to minimize property loss and expedite the return of the building to operational status.

No. FARS are installed in mid-rises, high-rises, tunnels, big box-style structures, underground structures, and mega-buildings. These structures all present unique logistical challenges to firefighters for the delivery of air.

Common code requirements include:

• Buildings of five or more stories in height
• Structures with two or more floors below grade
• Buildings of 250,000 square feet or more in size, regardless of height

Elevators are not a reliable delivery system for replacement air bottles. They present a failure risk during a fire. Additionally, the manual delivery of air, even via an elevator, is labor-intensive, making fewer firefighters available for other critical tasks like fire attack, search and rescue.

FARS and sprinkler systems are complimentary systems, not redundant systems.

While a fire typically can be controlled by sprinklers, in some instances, the fire will not be fully extinguished, leaving final extinguishment to firefighters.

Partially extinguished fires can expose firefighters to cold smoke, which is dangerous and disorienting. Cold smoke makes search and rescue more difficult and the need for air replenishment more acute, since it creates an environment immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) and, as such, requires that firefighters remain on air.

With ready access to air replenishment via FARS, later stage operations in an IDLH environment like search and rescue, salvage and overhaul can be completed faster and with a higher level of safety. 

FARS uses air from large, commercial air cylinders located in an air storage room of the building or supplied from a fire department's mobile air unit. The system is pressurized constantly, making the air immediately available to first responders. The air is delivered to each emergency air fill panel through an interconnected piping distribution system, like those used in medical gas systems found in hospitals and clinics.

Testing and certification are typically performed on a quarterly basis and are dictated by local codes. NFPA-1 Annex D covers FARS Inspection, Testing and Maintenance Requirements. Inspection includes a visual examination of the system and its components as specified in the code.

FARS do not impact fire department budgets. When a system is required by a local fire code, a building owner/operator pays for installation and maintenance, just as they do with other building-installed fire protection equipment such as sprinkler systems and fire alarms. The only cost to the local fire department will be to train personnel on how to use the system. Training is quick, efficient, and can be easily integrated into current training programs.

Every FARS installation is unique. Each system is uniquely designed to meet specific building and jurisdiction requirements. Here are some of the factors that can impact the cost of a FARS installation:

• Size and design of the buildingNumber of stairwells equipped with FARS
• New construction versus repurposing of an existing site
• Prevailing labor rates in a market
• Competitive bidding activity
• Installation complexity
• Code requirements in a jurisdiction

If you are in a jurisdiction considering a FARS code adoption and need more information on costs, Johnson Controls can work with the local fire officials to understand their department’s needs and model FARS systems with historical system and installation data to estimate system cost for construction types in their jurisdiction.

Additionally, the system will need to comply with applicable inspection, testing and maintenance requirements. Johnson Controls FARS Certified Installers are also licensed and trained to do this work and can provide costs for these services.

FARS is covered in the following codes. Each of these codes assures a high level of safety with rigorous installation, testing, and maintenance requirements to ensure that air quality meets the requirements of NFPA 1989.

• ICC International Fire Code – Appendix L
• Uniform Plumbing Code – Appendix F
• The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA-1) – Annex D

More than 200 jurisdictions nationwide have adopted FARS requirements, demonstrating their belief that FARS significantly enhance their fire department’s ability to control fires in large buildings and reduce risk to their firefighters. 

FARS are required in jurisdictions in 26 states, including 12 major metropolitan cities and more than 100 jurisdictions in Texas.
You can find a list of jurisdictions with FARS codes here.

The Firefighter Air Coalition offers a FARS Code Adoption Guide that outlines the steps to FARS code adoption.

Yes. The Firefighter Air Coalition can connect you with a FARS advocate who can help you with the process.

Yes. FARS systems have been installed and commissioned for more than 20 years. The first known deployment of FARS in a working fire was in 2021 in Frisco, Texas. Fire crews responded to a fire on the 12th floor of a 17-story high-rise apartment building. As part of the firefighting effort, crews deployed the building's FARS system. 19 units and 43 personnel were used to help extinguish the blaze. The FARS system performed perfectly, and, more importantly, there were no civilians or firefighters injured.

Read more about this fire event here.

FARS is not necessary for every type of building. It is intended for high-risk properties where SCBA air bottle delivery is particularly challenging. These applications include mid- and high-rise building, large square-footage horizontal structures, such as warehouses and big box stores, and underground infrastructure, such as tunnels.

Like many life safety systems, FARS is a safeguard to prepare a community to meet a worst-case scenario with the necessary tools. FARS is an investment in being prepared for difficult fire events. Today’s smoke is more toxic than anything we’ve experienced before, and our increasingly complex buildings create an ever-expanding challenge to the fire service.

FARS gives firefighters an important tactical tool in a smoke-filled IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) environment, it helps them to do their job more effectively, including fire attack, as well as search and rescue of building occupants.

In addition to serving an important role during and in the immediate aftermath of a fire, FARS is also one more tool to help prevent firefighter exposure to smoke and contaminants in a fire. Firefighters are at a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than general population of the U.S.

Johnson Controls (JCI) entered the FARS market in October of 2022 with the acquisition of Rescue Air Systems. JCI has a deep history of innovation and commitment to providing comprehensive and advanced fire safety solutions, and the acquisition of FARS technology is a natural extension.

Since the acquisition, JCI has invested in improving FARS technology, underscoring its commitment to this life-saving technology. Additionally, to facilitate adoption and implementation of FARS codes and competition among FARS installers, JCI is continuing to expand its network of FARS certified installers in the markets it serves.

Johnson Controls has a network of FARS Certified Installers that have been trained and licensed to install and maintain Johnson Controls FARS systems. Use this search tool to find a FARS Certified Installer in your market.